I woke up this morning to see that the latest TiVo upgrade now officially supports expansion! I never got around to upgrading mine. How are people that had taken on the homegrown workaround faring with the new update? I have all the pieces I just need to hook them up

Thanks!
-Nuttzy

Our eSATA drive and everyone else's that have reported in (with one odd exception) are still working fine after the latest update.

The instructions at mfslive.org describe using SATA-to-USB adapters to connect your SATA drives to the PC in order to perform the upgrades.

Is it actually necessary to use such adapters if your SATA drive enclosures also have USB connections? Can you just connect those enclosures directly via USB?

I am almost positive that you have to employ the SATA connectors, ideally while the drive is not in the enclosure. IIRC it won't work using the USB connections. You might want to pose the question on the MFSLive forum to be sure.

I am almost positive that you have to employ the SATA connectors, ideally while the drive is not in the enclosure. IIRC it won't work using the USB connections. You might want to pose the question on the MFSLive forum to be sure.

I will (have to register there first), but this raises the question: how do I power the drive (for the duration of the upgrade) if not via a separate enclosure?

I guess power is supplied via the SATA-to-USB adapter, but does that mean the bare drive is sitting there on the table, forlorn and enclosure-less, during the whole upgrade process?

I am almost positive that you have to employ the SATA connectors, ideally while the drive is not in the enclosure. IIRC it won't work using the USB connections. You might want to pose the question on the MFSLive forum to be sure.

I had read on the MFS site that the USB will work fine. After all, many folks are buying external USB/SATA adapters just for doing the upgrades.

I guess power is supplied via the SATA-to-USB adapter, but does that mean the bare drive is sitting there on the table, forlorn and enclosure-less, during the whole upgrade process?

Yes, the USB to SATA adapter, at least the one I have and the others I've seen, have their own power supply as well as a power adapter you should be able to use with your PC by using an extra lead from the PC's supply or disconnect one from a CD ROM drive, etc.

If you feel badly for your naked drive, I suppose you could put a mouse pad over it or something.

Okay, I haven't looked at it recently. I guess the only drawback would be the slow USB transfer rate as opposed to SATA.

But in both cases (a SATA enclosure that includes a USB connection, versus a separate USB-to-SATA adapter) we're using USB to connect to the PC, so shouldn't it be pretty much the same wrt performance?

But in both cases (a SATA enclosure that includes a USB connection, versus a separate USB-to-SATA adapter) we're using USB to connect to the PC, so shouldn't it be pretty much the same wrt performance?

That would be true. USB is just considerably slower than SATA is all. (USB 2.0: 480 Mbps and SATA up to 3000Mbps)

If you go back to the original Series3 eSATA Drive Expansion in 8.x: FAQ + Discussion thread you'll see that the Free Agent Pro drives are not recommended as expansion drives for TiVo (#36). Numerous posts indicated immediate problems...exactly like you're experiencing...or other problems later down the line due to overheating, etc. One of the main issues were the eSATA cables and the connections on the FAP drive causing problems. That said, there are people using them, but again many simply didn't work.

My suggestion would be to return the drive and purchase the "approved" Western Digital My DVR Expander Hard Drive from TiVo, one of the recommended all-in-one expansion drives or a bare drive and enclosure combo such as the Seagate DB35 7200.3 series and Antec MX-1 enclosure.

All that said, there has been one report of an eSATA drive failing after the latest software upgrade, v9.2.a, was installed, but we're waiting for more feedback to see if it is in fact a problem.

I've been using a FreeAgent Pro 750 since shortly after the original kickstart code was discovered with no major problems. I'm using a SIIG eSATA cable and keep the drive out in the open next to the S3.

After upgrading to the new 9.2 software, the drive is identified as "Seagate FreeAgent Pro 3.AFK" under the External Storage field on the System Information screen.

The only annoyance I've had with the drive is that the setting to turn off the drive's orange lights does not stick after a power outage. With the light on. the drive seems subjectively much warmer than with it turned off. As a result I go through the somewhat inconvenient process of turning the lights off using a PC after a power outage. Fortunately power outages are rare in my area, and it's a small inconvenience I'll gladly put up with for a sub-$200 750GB external storage solution for my S3.

So the bottom line IMHO is that while there have been many reports of various problems, the FAP may still be worth a shot if you can get one at a good price at a local store with a good return policy.

I've been using a FreeAgent Pro 750 since shortly after the original kickstart code was discovered with no major problems. I'm using a SIIG eSATA cable and keep the drive out in the open next to the S3.

After upgrading to the new 9.2 software, the drive is identified as "Seagate FreeAgent Pro 3.AFK" under the External Storage field on the System Information screen.

The only annoyance I've had with the drive is that the setting to turn off the drive's orange lights does not stick after a power outage. With the light on. the drive seems subjectively much warmer than with it turned off. As a result I go through the somewhat inconvenient process of turning the lights off using a PC after a power outage. Fortunately power outages are rare in my area, and it's a small inconvenience I'll gladly put up with for a sub-$200 750GB external storage solution for my S3.

So the bottom line IMHO is that while there have been many reports of various problems, the FAP may still be worth a shot if you can get one at a good price at a local store with a good return policy.

Sounds good...and don't get me wrong, I know there are a number in service out there; humming along nicely.

It's just that there were so many reports of issues along the way that for anyone that doesn’t already have one, I'd probably still steer clear of them. But as you point out, you can get a pretty good sized drive for a decent price sometimes.

When setting up something like the Antex MX-1, you can use the USB connection to the PC when running the WinMFS process. I don't think this worked under linux because of lack of USB support, but don't take that as gospel.

At any rate, when I added the external to my already internally upgraded S3 I used my laptop, and connected the new drive via the USB connection on the Antec, and I left the existing drive in the S3 case, using the Sabrent USB-SATA adaptor with its power supply.

At any rate, when I added the external to my already internally upgraded S3 I used my laptop, and connected the new drive via the USB connection on the Antec, and I left the existing drive in the S3 case, using the Sabrent USB-SATA adaptor with its power supply.

This is really good to know! I was expecting to need a desktop PC for the marrying procedure. Looks like I can do it with a laptop and a USB-SATA adapter after all. Was it this one?

anybody have to keep resetting about once a day the remote address code for tivo hd..I run series 3 and hd side by side I don't know if it 9.2a from 9.2j or what but I think I've gone thru the remote setup 5 times in 3 days

I hope this hasnt been asked already....are my current recordings safe when a esata device is added? I read you basically loose everything if its removed....what happens when you plug it in....besides the obvious increases

I hope this hasnt been asked already....are my current recordings safe when a esata device is added? I read you basically loose everything if its removed....what happens when you plug it in....besides the obvious increases

Your current recordings are safe.

Be sure to check the first post for answers to other common questions.

I have a FAP750 with S3. Worked fine after 9.2 update. But then had to do a restart and now it will not. It appears I have lost everything on the drive. Heelp!

About the only thing you can do is unplug TiVo, unplug or turn off your eSATA drive, check the eSATA cable connections to make sure they are snug on both ends, power up your eSATA drive and plug TiVo back in.

If that doesn't work, you could try using TiVo's kickstart diagnostic programs to see if it will repair itself, but I've only seen that work with an eSATA drive a couple of times, and not with a FAP AFAIK.

If all else fails you'll get the divorce screen and there's not much else to do but divorce it. Be sure to divorce it properly or you'll have a heck of a time trying to marry a new drive later.

I have a S3 running 9.2, just wanted to verify that this is as simple as it seems.

All I need to do is disconnect my existing TIVO drive from its existing connections in the TIVO box and then attach it AND the WD drive to separate USB ports (using USB to SATA adapters) on my Vista machine and then run WinMFS? Then attach the TIVO drives to my TIVO and then the WD drive? Correct?

Hey there, I have a WD My Book Essential 320gb hard drive and I was wondering if it needs to be a "special" hard drive or do I just need to get an esata cable? Does the cable have a regular usb end for the hard drive or are there adapters out there? Thank you so much!!

Edit: Oh, I have the Series 3 HD. I read on the first page that series 3 hd cannot use non verified hd's. But that was oct so I was wondering if it was different.

I have a S3 running 9.2, just wanted to verify that this is as simple as it seems.

All I need to do is disconnect my existing TIVO drive from its existing connections in the TIVO box and then attach it AND the WD drive to separate USB ports (using USB to SATA adapters) on my Vista machine and then run WinMFS? Then attach the TIVO drives to my TIVO and then the WD drive? Correct?

That is unnecessary if (1) you have a Series3 (2) you are still using the original internal drive.

The only time you ever have to use a PC is if (1) you previously upgraded your TiVO's internal drive or (2) you have a TivoHD -- not a Series3 -- and want to use a Non Verified drive.

If your TiVo Series3 still has the original drive inside, then just plug an eSATA drive into your TiVo with the appropriate cable. No PC is necessary.

I have a FAP750 with S3. Worked fine after 9.2 update. But then had to do a restart and now it will not. It appears I have lost everything on the drive. Heelp!

Do you mean that the recordings have disappeared, or did you get an error screen from the TiVo about the drive being disconnected?

If it's the latter, here's something to try. Once after I connected the FAP to my notebook to change the drive's light setting I got the drive missing screen when I reconnected power to the s3. I figured out that the drive spun down and turned off when I unplugged the PC's usb cable, but it did not spin up again when I plugged the S3 back into the wall.

To solve this, I found that in this unique case I had to use the FAP's power switch manually to spin the drive back up, then re apply power to the S3. The FAP was so quiet I had to put my ear next to it to make sure it was up and running. The drive was then detected and everything was intact.

Pretty much any good one, so long as it has a power supply. Remember, a 2.5" can probably pull enough juice off the USB Plug to run itself, but a 3.5" drive WILL need an external A/C converted power source - or if using a desktop PC, use an internal HDD power cable.